EY Tax Alert - RO e-Factura – Postponement of the term from which fines are applied & Changes on excise duties and new obligations regarding the possession or comercialization on Romanian territory of products containing tobacco, intended for inhalation without combustion

On March 29, Emergency Ordinance no. 30 was published on the Official Gazette  for the amendment and supplement of Law no. 227/2015 regarding the Fiscal Code and art. LIX from Law no. 296/2023 regarding some fiscal-budgetary measures to ensure Romania's long-term financial sustainability, and on March 28 an announcement was published on the website of the Romanian Customs Authority specifying new rules on the traceability of tobacco products.

Among the most important provisions of the Emergency Ordinance and of the announcement we mention:

E-Invoicing

• The period during which no sanctions are applied for non-compliance with the transmission deadline of invoices in the national electronic invoicing system RO e-Factura, is extended by 2 months, respectively up to the 31 May 2024.
• Regarding the saction applicable for non-compliance with the communication deadline of invoices through the RO e-Factura system, this applies for one or more invoices, whose communication deadline occurs during a calendar month.

Excise duties

• The registered consignee, if he will not use the direct delivery option as mentioned in the Fiscal Code, will have to store the received products only in the locations declared and authorized for the reception of excisable products. Failure to comply with this provision constitutes an offence;
• The phrase “reserve document” shall be replaced by “reserve receipt report for movements of excise goods” or “reserve export report for movements of excise goods under suspension of excise duty”, as appropriate;
• With effect from 20 May 2024,  for tobacco products subject to non-harmonized excise duties, the following provisions are introduced:
  • from the value of the excise duties due, it is deducted the value of the stamps used to mark the heated tobacco products which, by heating, emit an aerosol that can be inhaled, without the combustion of the tobacco mixture taking place,  with tariff classification NC 2404 11 00;
  • the obligation of excise payers to mark tobacco products intended for inhalation without combustion by tax stamps similar to those affixed to processed tobacco products. Marking with false stamps, possession or commercialization on the territory of Romania of these products over the limit of 7 kg of tobacco intended for inhalation without combustion, contained in products falling within CN code 2404 11 00 is punishable by imprisonment from 2 to 7 years;
  • additionally according to the AVR announcement the obligation to ensure the traceability of all tobacco products provided by Law no. 201/2016. All economic operators involved in trade (including production, import, export and distribution) and with other tobacco products other than cigarettes and rolling tobacco on the national territory are required to register on the www.ridis.ro platform administered by the National Printing Company National" until May 19, 2024 at the latest, in order to grant them the following rights:  economic operator identification code (EOID), plant identification code(s) for the factory, warehouse or retail establishment (FID), where applicable, manufacturing machine(s) identification code(s) in case of manufacturers.
• It will be an offence to deliver from tax warehouses or from the location where the products were received without the payment document attesting the transfer to the state budget of the value of excise duties also for products: sparkling wines, fermented beverages other than beer and wines, except for those for which a zero excise duty rate is provided, intermediate products,  alcohol. This modification is important with regard to the exigibility and obligation to pay excise duty.

What does this mean for you?

We recommend that you analyze the impact of these changes on your company's activity in advance.

For more information, the EY team is at your disposal.